New players, same aim for AP
SGF, Troy also in loaded Class A playoff field
There’s a sign bolted to the dugout entrance at Averill Park High School which reads: “2015 State Champions, Class A Softball, Record 26-1.” But even head coach Ken Bailey admits: This season’s version is not the same team.
The Warriors lost five times as many games in 2016 — the reality of losing a mere one game a year ago. Nevertheless, their quest for another dugout ornament begins this Friday with similar, if only slightly muted, expectations.
“If we expect to repeat, if that’s what we want to be, we’ve got to play better. We’ve got some work to do,” Bailey told the Record after Averill Park’s 4-2 win over rival Troy on April 18.
Averill Park (11-5) secured the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Section II Class A softball playoffs, the seeding committee announced on Monday. The defending state champion Warriors will play No. 7 Lansingburgh (9-7) at home in the first round on Friday, May 20.
The Warriors might have a tough time advancing past the Section II final, however — a game they won 3-2 against Troy in 2015 — with No. 1 seed South Glens Falls (14-0) looming at the opposite end of the bracket. The Bulldogs are the second ranked team in the entire state as of May 16.
Averill Park lost a large chunk of its state championship roster, including core four seniors Caraline Wood, McKenzie Bump, Torey Chenette and Andrea Debboli — all former starters and all Suburban Council all-stars. Wood was the 2015 Suburban Council Most Valuable Player, New York State Player of the Year and The Record’s Player of the Year.
“We have to produce runs. We need runs, man,” Bailey said. “I don’t
have kids that can hit it over the fence. I haven’t got that same crew. We lost 18 home runs last year in two players. That’s big. That’s some big pop out of the order. We have to bunt and do some things to move the runners around.”
Scotia-Glenville (12-2) secured the No. 3 seed and will open tournament play on Friday against No. 6 Burnt
Hills. No. 4 Troy High (10-6) rounds out the top-4 seeds in Class A and will play No. 5 Catholic Central (9-7) at home on Friday.
After beating defending sectional champion Shenendehowa last week, Shaker (15-1) was named the No. 1 seed in Class AA . The Blue Devils were a sectional finalist a year ago and are currently ranked No. 6 in the state as of May 16. They open the playoffs against No. 8 Guilderland (5-11) on Friday.
“I think we needed that,”
Shaker head coach Kristen Calahan said of the team’s win over Shen. “We were a young team last year. The years before that we hadn’t really qualified for sectionals, so last year was our first real serious playoff run. I think the girls we have now are well seasoned and more experienced and ready to move forward.”
Columbia, Shen and Ballston Spa round out the top-4 seeds in Class AA — all of which, along with Shaker, possess a dominant ace in the circle in either Allie
Lajeunesse (Shaker), Maddie Burns (Columbia), Abby Shields (Shen) and Ashlyn Lersch (Ballston Spa).
With any of the top-4 — even top-5 — teams in Class AA having the ability to reach the sectional final, it’s about as wide open a class level Section II has to offer.
Cohoes (16-0) and star Isabelle DeChiaro ran away with the No. 1 seed in Class B ahead of Ichabod Crane, Schuylerville and Hoosic Valley, respectively. Ichabod Crane ousted the Tigers
in the sectional final a year ago, but the Tigers returned the favor during the regular season in 2016.
“I think that win was probably the biggest win of the year until sectionals,” DeChiaro said about beating the Riders this season. “That win was saying that we can beat them and we can win if we want.”
The Tigers are the No. 2 in the state.
Cohoes earned the only first-round bye in Class B and will play the winner of either No. 8 Cobleskill-Richmondville
or No. 9 Mechanicville on Friday.
No. 2 Ichabod Crane (151) plays No. 15 Bishop Gibbons (7-3), No. 3 Schuylerville plays No. 14 Tamarac and No. 4 Hoosic Valley plays No. 13 Holy Names in the preliminary round on Wednesday, May 18.
In Class C, Greenville (12-2) and Greenwich (12-2) earned the top-2 seeds followed by Maple Hill (10-4) and Lake George (12-2). The Witches will play either No. 7 Corinth or No. 10 Middleburgh on Friday at home.